Domenic Mosqueira
Interview; Russell Ord
Domenic Mosqueira, the little Mexican, international male model ( a cracking story for another day over several beers), family man and professional surf photographer based in Tahiti, also speaks several languages.
The combination of Jacques Cousteau documentaries and a camera his father purchased inspired Dom to study photography in Canada for three years before documenting sailing in the Caribbean. Dom then found himself shooting celebrity weddings and events for Richard Branson on Necker Island, no doubt a fantastic experience with plenty of stories that trashy celebrity magazines would love to publish if not for watertight non-disclosure agreements.
While weddings was a great money maker his calling was the ocean, so he set sail for French Polynesia, anchored in the Teahupoo channel, Dom instantly found a way to combine his love of surfing, the sea and photography. Eleven years later, many near-death experiences and learning the hard way Tahiti is still home with his beautiful family.
Dom has built a reputation for incredible water imagery, working for brands such as Patagonia, Hurley, Volcom, page ones (covers) for every well-known Surfing magazines and photographed the who's who of surfing, John John, Slater and the list goes on.
Dom is going to break down (an arduous task considering his exceptional Teahupoo photo library) his eight favourite images from the infamous surf break.
Impact On Sunset
I love this angle from the ski; it sums up the whole feeling of Teahupoo. I had been chasing this particular image for a long time, riding on the ski parallel to a big west bowl wave, boats in the channel, fantastic afternoon light and my very last image of the day.
This image is undoubtedly one of my favourites as I love these fisheye images of the rider standing tall and John is one of the best at it, looking very calm in such a critical position. This photo was one of my first published fisheye images and became an iconic image of him and his iconic stance. Fisheye is super rewarding as you feel like and are participating in creating a vision, not just documenting a moment.
Matahi, Rainbow Wave
An image that I am not sure I will ever be able to duplicate as everything came together for a magic moment. I had seen some rainbows in the blast of saltwater on a couple of waves so sat still in the same spot hoping one would do it with someone riding the wave. Matahi stood tall on the wave of the day, I looked in the camera afterwards and was overwhelmed to see the bright rainbow in the image! Very grateful to have captured such a unique photo that landed the dream cover of The Surfers Journal with a friend and local, Matahi Drollet.
Incoming
The ocean draws all the water from the reef; the surfers are paddling for their lives. I am feeling the weight and movement of the sea while capturing the image, a surreal perspective.
Teahupoo Sunrise.
Growing up surfing, this is the view you dream of especially here at Teahupoo with the mountain view from within the barrel. I took this photo as the sun rises over the mountains; I love the light and the feeling of morning glory, golden hour.
JJF - PADDLE DAY
The first time I was hired to shoot John and easily the best paddle swell I have ever seen at Teahupoo. 10-12 feet, super clean and sunny with very few people in the water. It was amazing to watch John paddle into these waves so comfortably and be so relaxed in waves of consequence.
Matahi Drollet Point Break Wave
I thought this one was going run me over, the wave of the day and significantly larger than anything that came through that day. I was undoubtedly going to get caught out of place. I only had time to fire off five photos before swimming to the bottom for safety. One of my all-time favourite images as you feel like you are almost in there with him in this mutant sized wave. Matahi's iconic Point Break Wave (movie) and one of those genuine moments I was ecstatic to make the channel safe and sound.
Nathan Florence Bomb
The craziest and heaviest waves I have ever seen paddled at Teahupoo. Nathan keeps pushing the limits of what is possible out here. I was concerned for Nathans life. Can you imagine Nathan's perspective? He said a few more pumps on the wave, and he would have ridden it to safety but was in awe of the situation. When shooting action and what these guys do this is by far one of my best captures, I always try to position myself to make the wave and rider look genuinely impactful.
Photos of Dom: Russell Ord
